The United Conservative Caucus voted today to reinstate Pat Rehn to his position of MLA for Lesser Slave Lake.
They made the decision to welcome him back after receiving letters of support from The Lesser Slave Lake Constituency Association and other municipalities.
Rehn was also shown support in a statement from Caucus Chair Nathan Neudorf, “Pat has been doing an incredible amount of work to rebuild trust and get things done in his constituency. He has learned to apply the skills that made him so successful in business to his job as MLA, and he has reminded all of us why he was elected in the first place,” Neudorf said. “As our government shifts focus to the economic recovery, Pat will be a strong asset, not only for his riding but for our entire United Conservative Caucus team.”
MLA Rehn was removed from Caucus earlier in the year after he was caught vacationing in Mexico during the pandemic.
Mayors, Reeves, Councillors, and Indigenous leaders also called for his resignation, citing a failure to represent his constituents.
Rehn released this statement:
“The past six months have been eye-opening to me, as I worked to regain the trust and confidence of my constituents. It was clear that I was not living up to expectations in representing Lesser Slave Lake, and for that I am sorry. I am humbled that people are willing to give me a second chance, and I will not let them down,” Rehn said. “I am a conservative and I joined politics to put the NDP’s devastating experiments out to pasture and to restore the Alberta Advantage for all. I thank my government colleagues and look forward to the days ahead.”
NDP Deputy Leader Sarah Hoffman responded with a statement against the MLA’s reinstatement.
“Pat Rehn was caught vacationing in Mexico while Albertans made great personal sacrifices. He billed taxpayers for months’ worth of expenses for extended stays in Edmonton. He skipped meetings and failed to show up to serve the Albertans he was elected to represent for months, to the point where mayors, reeves, councilors and Indigenous leaders called for him to resign. He undermined health orders and undermined the pandemic response of the Government of Alberta. As Premier, Jason Kenney himself told Albertans that Rehn ‘clearly crossed the line in terms of ethical or legal conduct.’ Today, Jason Kenney has once again shown his inability to lead. After removing Rehn from the UCP caucus and swearing to never let him run for another nomination, Rehn is welcomed back because he’s more loyal to Jason Kenney than the people of Lesser Slave Lake. Apparently, in Jason Kenney’s caucus, you can disrespect the public, you can shirk your responsibilities, you can abuse taxpayer dollars but you just can’t question Jason Kenney.”
-Damien Gnass, Trending 55 Newsroom
